For Californians, the most convenient cruises usually visit Mexico. We will have three great ships to enjoy all summer long in 2008!
Carnival Pride continues her year-round presence visiting the traditional Mexican Riviera itinerary of Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan on seven night cruises roundtrip from Long Beach. Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas will carry on her similar itinerary from San Pedro rather than reposition to Alaska this year, and that is great news. 
A third ship, Disney Magic, will also follow a similar itinerary this summer. For families with young children, no other cruise line can measure up to Disney, but strong demand will keep prices considerably above the competition. Availability on Disney Magic is already scarce for summer.
A third ship, Disney Magic, will also follow a similar itinerary this summer. For families with young children, no other cruise line can measure up to Disney, but strong demand will keep prices considerably above the competition. Availability on Disney Magic is already scarce for summer.
Three and four night trips on Carnival Paradise and Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas will continue through the summer. Paradise cruises from Long Beach to Ensenada on the Friday evening departures and to Ensenada plus Catalina for the four nighters that embark on Mondays. Monarch's San Pedro departures on the same days are similar, but the four nighter also adds the wonderful port of San Diego to the mix. Royal Caribbean recently announced transferring Monarch's sister, Sovereign of the Seas, to another line, and Monarch will cruise from Los Angeles through the Panama Canal in October, eventually taking over the Bahamas itineraries vacated by Sovereign. What does this mean? Starting in October and for the foreseeable future, we will go back to having only one ship doing the three and four nighters from the L.A. area, possibly skewing prices a little higher.
Carnival Elation will continue her four and five night cruises to Cabo San Lucas from San Diego. The five night itineraries add Ensenada as a second port, and on October 31, there is a special Halloween cruise that adds the seldom visited port of La Paz to a six night itinerary. This ship is a great alternative to the usual short cruises to Mexico, because Cabo is truly one of the best ports on the Mexican Riviera.More changes are afoot for next season, as Norwegian Star drops the eight night cruises that got as far south as Acapulco in favor of a traditional seven night Mexican Riviera when she returns from Alaska next fall. Carnival Spirit will stay with her eight night itinerary when she returns from Alaska, visiting the unique itinerary of Acapulco, Zihuatenejo and Manzanillo.
Even longer itineraries will be offered by Holland America after summer. Ten day Sea of Cortez itineraries from San Diego on Ryndam bring such exotic ports as Loreto, Guaymas, Topolobampo and Pichilinque, spiced with more traditional Mexican Riviera ports. A special fourteen night holiday cruise embarking December 21 brings you the Best of the Mexican Riviera, visiting Manzanillo, Acapulco, Huatulco, Puerto Chiapas, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Loreto and Cabo San Lucas. The beautiful Holland America Oosterdam returns in the fall to San Diego for seven night traditional Mexican Riviera cruises.Of course, from Los Angeles, the line that made cruising the Mexican Riviera popular with "The Love Boat" television show returns, this time with Sapphire Princess from San Pedro. 
Star Princess will cruise ten night voyages from the San Francisco, visiting Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatenejo and Cabo San Lucas. Sound kind of familiar? It's essentially the itinerary vacated by Norwegian Star, except this time it starts considerably further north, adding an extra two nights of cruising to make the roundtrip possible from the Golden Gate. Act quick if you want this San Francisco departure, as Star Princess will only be doing this trip a handful of times before she repositions down to South America in mid-November.
Star Princess will cruise ten night voyages from the San Francisco, visiting Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatenejo and Cabo San Lucas. Sound kind of familiar? It's essentially the itinerary vacated by Norwegian Star, except this time it starts considerably further north, adding an extra two nights of cruising to make the roundtrip possible from the Golden Gate. Act quick if you want this San Francisco departure, as Star Princess will only be doing this trip a handful of times before she repositions down to South America in mid-November.
Believe it or not, there's still more BIG news. Carnival will replace Pride with the brand new Carnival Splendor in March. Splendor will make her debut this summer in Europe, and then cruise transaltantic and then around South America's horn on her way to her new home in Long Beach. By the way, the itineraries before Splendor arrives to the Mexican Riviera are all spectacular and highly recommended.
Not to be outdone, Royal Caribbean will bring one of her magnificent giants, Mariner of the Seas, to the West Coast to replace Vision of the Seas. Almost twice as large as Vision of the Seas, this 138,000 ton ship redefines cruising. You expect the rock-climbing wall, but can you imagine ice skating on a cruise ship? Prepare for your jaw to drop when you walk her Royal Promenade, unlike anything else in the cruise world.If you're looking for a convenient vacation from California, you can't beat a Mexican Riviera cruise. People come from all over the world to visit these ports, and the quality of cruise ships in California has never been better. Call Wes today at 866-554-5553 to book!
